March 1, 2014
DUBAI: Roger Federer – ground game that spells poetry- let his lines rhyme and strokes singe in the final of the Dubai Duty Free tennis championship.
Roger Federer holds the trophy after defeating Tomas Berdych in the final at the Dubai Championships.
March 1, 2014
DUBAI: Roger Federer – ground game that spells poetry- let his lines rhyme and strokes singe in the final of the Dubai Duty Free tennis championship.
Roger Federer holds the trophy after defeating Tomas Berdych in the final at the Dubai Championships.
Rising to the wave of the 'Roger, Roger, Roger' chants of the 5000-strong crowd the superstar Swiss rallied to sweep aside the in-form Czech Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch his sixth crown here.
Federer led Berdych 11-6 in head-to-head clashes coming into the final, but with the Czech having won their last two meetings, their previous encounter at this very venue in the semifinals last year, played aggressively from the word go, going for the lines, meeting power with precision.
"I'm very, very happy with my game tonight and this week. Tomas had advantage early and should have got it home," Federer, who came back from a set down in his second successive match here, said.
"I was a little lucky, but I also fought hard. I broke back quickly in the second set and was able to turn it around. I stayed calm when I needed to and once I got in more returns I was able to come through."
Berdych, who came into the final on a 11-match winning streak, rallied superbly from a break-down in the first set to take the early lead, clinching the opening set in the ninth game after 33-minutes of play.
Federer, who started strongly, was let down by his forehand, which for a 20-minute spell strayed more than stung.
In the second, the burly Czech went up an early break, but the superstar Swiss hit back, breaking in the sixth game. Federer broke again in the tenth game when his opponent, nerves jangling and serves misfiring, was broken at love, allowing the 32-year-old to level set scores.
In the decider, Berdych dug himself out of a hole in the second game, coming back to claim a 0-40 game, but the winner of 17 Grand Slam titles wasted little time underlining his intentions breaking in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.
Courtesy: TNN
